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James Orr
James Orr (1770 - 24 April 1816) was a Northern Irish poet, one of the Weaver Poets. Life Orr was born in the parish of Broad-Island, co. Antrim, in 1770, the only son of a weaver, who held a few acres of land near Ballycarry. James followed his father's occupation, and came into possession of the small holding on his father's death.O'Donoghue, 267. He joined the United Irishmen, and wrote verse from an early age. Many of his poems appeared in the Northern Star, the organ of the United Irishmen in Belfast before 1797 (when the paper ceased). His poems were popular, and he was known as "The Bard of Ballycarry." He took part in the battle of Antrim on 7 June 1798, and is credited with having saved some lives on that occasion. After the engagement he escaped to America, and while there wrote for the press. He returned to Ireland in a short time, however, and in 1804 issued a small collection of his poems by subscription at Belfast. The book attracted almost 400 subscribers, who among them bought 560 copies.The Ulster Weaver Poets, James Orr: The Robert Burns of Ulster. Web, Mar. 23, 2016. The success of the publication unsettled him, and he took to drink. In 1809-1810 he became a freemason, joining Masonic Lodge No 302, which met over Millars Public House in Ballycarry.Robert Bashford, "James Orr Freemason, Poet, Patriot, Philanthropist and United Irishman," irishfreemasonry.com, July 4, 2014. Web, Mar. 23, 2017. He died in the prime of life at Ballycarry in Templecorran parish, co. Antrim, on 24 April 1816. He was buried in Templecorran churchyard. Writing Orr's song entitled "The Irishman" is a great favourite in every part of Ireland. The poem, which has been wrongly attributed to Curran, is not in Orr's collection of 1804, having been composed subsequently, but it is to be found in the collected edition of his poems published posthumously in 1817. His pithiest writings are in the Antrim dialect. Recognition A public monument was erected over his grave. His Poems, with a sketch of his life by A. McDowell, were reissued at Belfast in 1817. The sketch of his life was apparently printed in a separate form in the same year (Anderson, Early Belfast Printed Books). Publications *''Poems on Various Subjects''. Belfast: Smith & Lyons, 1804; Belfast: Wm. Mullan & Son, 1935. *''Posthumous Works; with a sketch of his life''. Belfast: 1817. *''The Country Rhymes of James Orr, the Bard of Ballycurry, 1770-1816'' (edited by Philip Robinson). Bangor, Wales, UK: Pretani Press, 1992. Except where noted, bibliographical information oourtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:James Orr, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Mar. 23, 2017. See also *List of Irish poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Mar. 23, 2017. Notes External links ;Poems *"The Irishman" *"The Wanderer" *The Poems of Orr (3 poems) *Orr at the Ulster-Scots Academy: "Donnegore Hill," "Tea," "To the Potatoe" ;About *James Orr (1770-1816) at the Dictionary of Ulster Biography *"Remember James Orr, an Irish poet and patriot who died 200 years ago today," Irish Times April 24, 2016. *"James Orr Freemason, Poet, Patriot, Philanthropist and United Irishman" at Irish Freemasonry blog *James Orr (1770-1816) at Fenian Graves *James Orr, Robert Burns of Ulster Official website. * Orr, James Category:1770 births Category:1816 deaths Category:18th-century Irish people Category:19th-century Irish people Category:Irish poets Category:Irish Freemasons Category:People from County Antrim Category:Ulster Scots people Category:United Irishmen Category:Ulster Weaver Poets